MISSION & OBJECTIVE
New Hope Film Festival is especially interested in discovering and nurturing new and overlooked filmmakers from around the globe.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The 2015 New Hope Film Festival is sponsored by LaCroix Water, Comcast Corporation, Times Publishing Newspapers, Inc., The Intelligencer and Bucks County Courier Times. The 6th Annual Festival will take place from July 24 - August 2, 2015. Decisions will be emailed by April 15, 2015. The top award winner will be announced on Variety.com.

About the Festival
Touted as an "emerging 'Sundance East'" in a June 2012 Huffington Post article, this internationally respected indie fest was founded by D. F. Whipple, an author screenwriter and long-time resident of the New Hope, Bucks County area. Whipple formed New Hope Film Festival with a group of artists who shared his passion for discovering and nurturing independent artists, especially those who’ve been overlooked by established festivals. This includes international films, which the Festival is eager to attract.

What Makes the Festival Different
Every film submitted is watched with a keen perspective on quality and artistic expression. Artistic standards are extremely high, but neither budget nor prior notoriety is a determining factor—the art must shine through. This approach brings significant prestige, satisfaction and credibility to the filmmakers whose works are accepted.

With a strong publicity and marketing program that includes an annual awards announcement in Variety as well as press coverage in mainstream outlets such as NBC, ABC, The Huffington Post, The Times of India and more, this cutting-edge and growing festival is a powerful bridge between indie obscurity and the mainstream.

The Location
Over the years, New Hope has attracted and been home to many talented producers, screenwriters, actors, playwrights, and performance art enthusiasts. Home of the Bucks County Playhouse, where actors such as John Travolta, George C. Scott, Robert Redford, Helen Hayes, Andrea McArdle and Colleen Dewhurst have graced the stage, the village is centrally located less than an hour from Philadelphia and an hour and a half from New York.

GENERAL RULES
Filmmakers are responsible for submitting DVD or Blu-ray disks that have been pre-tested for imperfections. If a disk freezes or doesn't launch in judges' machines, the Festival reserves the right to reject the submission on such grounds alone. Disks handed to event managers at the venue will not be screened.

The Festival does not offer fee waivers, discounts, invitations to become an Official Selection, or any other form of preferential treatment that Festival directors feel would be out of step with the Festival's mission of providing a level playing field for all filmmakers. Filmmakers seeking a waiver because the required fee is beyond their current budget are advised to wait until the next Early Submissions period, find a sponsor and/or earn the fee through an additional source of income. The Festival's organizers do not respond to pitches for individual projects, and filmmakers writing the Festival with requests or demands for other forms of preferential treatment will typically not receive a response.

Submission fees are non-refundable. Advance ticket purchases for all Festival events are subject to the following Event Refund and Cancellation Policy:

The Festival reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel any event due to storm, power outage, flood, war, civil unrest, fire, earthquake or any other circumstance deemed beyond the Festival's control. If an event is cancelled and the Festival is unable to re-schedule it, advance tickets are refunded. If the event can be re-scheduled, the Festival will offer replacement tickets to that event and, if the advance ticket holder is unable to attend at the new date and time, a refund of the face value of the ticket will be given.

Our policy is to suspend all movie screenings during severe storms and power outages until electrical power is stable and restored in order to protect projection and audio equipment from potentially permanent damage. If an event is suspended during a show, the Festival will, at its sole discretion, resume the show after a delay, cancel the event, or re-schedule it. If the show resumes after a delay, no refunds are given. If the event is re-scheduled, replacement tickets will be offered to the audience and, if a ticket holder is unable to attend the replacement event, a refund will be given electronically or by check. If the event is cancelled entirely, each audience member is entitled to a refund. In the event of a cash ticket purchase at the door, the ticket holder must have left his or her name with a Festival organizer at the event as proof of purchase.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

FILM SUBMISSION AGREEMENT
By clicking on Agree, below, the undersigned (“Filmmaker”) hereby irrevocably offers to New Hope Film Festival (“Festival”) the right to screen the film, TV pilot, music video or webisode submitted herewith (“Film”) at the Festival at times to be determined by the Festival in its sole discretion. Filmmaker understands and agrees that once Festival accepts Filmmaker’s offer by selecting the Film for the Festival, Filmmaker shall have no right to remove the Film from the Festival, but Filmmaker shall not be barred from submitting or screening the Film at any other film festival or event outside a 10 mile radius of New Hope. If Festival selects the Film for the Festival, Festival shall have the irrevocable right, but not the obligation, to screen the film at the 2015 New Hope Film Festival, in Festival’s sole discretion.
If the Film is revised or re-edited between the date of submission and the date of screening, Festival shall have the right to choose which version of the Film to screen, in Festival’s sole discretion.
Festival reserves the right to revoke selection of the Film for screening if Festival determines, in its sole discretion, it has good cause to do so; one example of good cause as used herein is unprofessional behavior by Filmmaker or Filmmaker’s representative(s). Even if Festival revokes selection of the Film for cause, the terms of this Agreement shall remain binding and in force.
Filmmaker irrevocably grants Festival the right to use, for promotional purposes, an excerpt from the Film if it is selected for screening at the Festival.
The undersigned individual or corporation submitting the Film (referred to as “Filmmaker” herein) hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening and to accept the terms of this Submission Agreement as Filmmaker or Filmmaker’s authorized representative; that it understands and accepts the terms of this Submission Agreement; and that all information it has provided on the WithoutABox® submission form is accurate and may be used by Festival for promotional purposes.
Filmmaker shall indemnify and hold New Hope Film Festival harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim in connection with the Film involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and/or loss of or damage to the screening videos submitted. In particular, Filmmaker expressly warrants it has obtained all necessary copyright clearances for original works of authorship used in the Film.
If the Film is selected as an official film of the Festival and is not removed from the Festival for cause, Filmmaker shall have the right to promote the Film as an Official Selection of the New Hope Film Festival in perpetuity. Any award and nomination granted to Filmmaker may be promoted in perpetuity. Festival will pay Filmmaker no additional compensation nor be liable to Filmmaker under any circumstances.